Alitalia was struggling to keep in the air last night after a day of failed efforts to reach an agreement on job losses and new labour contracts between union leaders and a group of Italian investors offering to rescue the airline, reports Guy Dinmore in Turin .

Italy's flag carrier, which sought bankruptcy protection last month, managed to keep operations going after dozens of cancellations on Thursday. About 100 flight attendants staged a noisy protest around check-in counters at Rome's Fiumicino airport.